Texas cities lead in home price appreciation

San Antonio ended 2008 with a 5.5 percent drop in median home price for the fourth quarter. But some Texas cities led the nation in price appreciation.

The Beaumont-Port Arthur area had the largest increase for single-family homes of any of the 153 MSAs tracked by the National Association of Realtors, according to a release this week. Its median price rose 16.7 percent to $132,600 in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2007.

El Paso had the third largest increase of all southern MSAs, with a 5.3 percent gain to $140,700. (Dover, Del. was No.2 with a 6.5 percent increase.)

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area had the strongest condo price increase, bumping 14.1 percent to $149,500.